They most likely won’t - I mean, I suppose it’s possible that you somehow won a few hundred thousand without ever having a W2 generated and it somehow comes to the IRS’ attention that you are spending money that can’t be accounted for by your reported income - but there’s a small chance of either one of those things happening and the chances of both happening are probably close to zero. What might happen is that you get asked about gambling income when you are audited about some other issue - in which case, don’t lie. It’s better to say truthfully, “well, I had some gambling winnings but I lost more than I won” ( if that’s true and it probably is) than to deny any gambling winnings at all.
Yes, exactly. Never out and out lie.
One tool an auditor uses is to not mention some known but maybe small amount of unreported income, like a $500 1099 you forgot, ask you those questions, and then show you that and ask “Well, how about this?” (No, they are worried about that $9.00 1099 int you forgot, as we all forget those, but $500 should be memorable. )
No, they aren’t gonna nab you for lying, but they now know not to take your word for much. So if you brag on FB about winning $2500 in poker- don’t lie.
is so generally true, that even if your net was like $50, that’s close enough for government work.
If you are generally honest with the auditor and cooperate, then small stuff can be glossed over.(“Well, no I don’t have receipts for that $1500 I claimed but I regularly go to the Church of the Buddy Jesus”)
Don’t lie.